Description

We need a way to identify easily which feed tube goes where. If the tubes are plugged into the wrong extruder the filament sensor will detect a run out.@mjpelletier mentioned a printer that can print onto heat shrink tubing as an option. He has some samples in R&D and they look very professional.

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A heat shrink tubing printer I use for my home business is the Kroy K4350. It prints black lettering on white or yellow tubing. The tubing is from Kroy and comes in several widths. The printer retails for $599 and 100 ft. rolls of tubing start at around $130.

I dont think labeling the blower shroud as e1 and e2 and the sensor e1 and e2 will help, especially if the printer is enclosed on the sides. We can still label the shroud and sensor but we really need to label the tubes, they are easy to mix up

If you can remember, the back filament tube goes to E2, and the front goes to E1. Would it be enough to document this in everything for the customer? or is it necessary to have these labeled?

There is concern about the shrink wrap (which only comes in white or yellow with black lettering) will make the eye focus on that. We could do stickers, but there is concern about getting them applied evenly and them staying on, as well as the eye focusing on those.

I am not sure if there is a different color PTFE tube we could, but kind of run into the same issues.

I personally would want to go a bit overboard with the identification. One of our big features is that the printers are incredibly easy to use, almost idiot proof. While this wouldn't be a major irritation, I could see it as something that would pop up in technical support as a common "issue".

The stickers were a nice touch but I've seen them peel off easily enough that I don't think it's really the best solution moving forward. I like the idea of labeling the tubes near the end, so long as it's not a big label and contrasts nicely against the tube to make it easy to read.

I am with @gyukish that we do need to identify / label tubes, as we are known for our ease of use and the "we thought of everything" aspect of our products. I think many people would be alright with the clear documentation, but there will be a fair amount that are still confused, and having labels clearly on the feed tubes will assist with it.

@DaniAO I think it would be very beneficial for the easy of use reasons that others have mentioned. If we don't it's not the end of the world, but we will get some customers who get confused and plug them in wrong.

@DaniAO I agree, I like this solution. My only concern would be if they constrict it enough to cause eventual feeding issues, especially over long prints. If the OD and ID of the tube is big enough though, I don't foresee it being an issue. Something to keep an eye on maybe.

++ I like the look, and should be very clear to the customer. If there is any confusion and does get messed up, I suspect it would be very straight forward correction for support with an aha moment from the customer.